UFC 203
Cleveland, Ohio |attendance = 18,875 |gate = 2,600,000 |previous_event = UFC Fight Night: Arlovski vs. Barnett |following_event = UFC Fight Night: Poirier vs. Johnson |hidea = |sherdog = }} UFC 203: Miocic vs Overeem is a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) that was held on September 10, 2016 at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. Background The event is expected to be headlined by a UFC Heavyweight Championship match with current champion Stipe Miocic defending the title against 2010 K-1 World Grand Prix winner and former Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion Alistair Overeem. The professional debut of former professional wrestler and two-time WWE Champion CM Punk is scheduled to take place at this event. Punk, who signed with the UFC in December 2014, had a delayed debut due to past injuries from professional wrestling that needed treatment and also due to Punk's need for training time. He will make his debut against Mickey Gall in a welterweight bout. Ben Rothwell was expected to face former heavyweight champion Fabrício Werdum at this event. However on August 11, Rothwell pulled out due to injury. A team representative said he may have suffered a torn meniscus and could have an ACL injury. He was replaced by Travis Browne. This will be a rematch as Werdum defeated Browne via unanimous decision at UFC on Fox: Werdum vs. Browne in 2014. A lightweight bout between Erik Koch and Drew Dober was originally booked for UFC 195, but Koch pulled out due to an injury and the bout was scrapped. The fight was later rescheduled for this event, until Koch pulled out again due to injury and was replaced by promotional newcomer Jason Gonzalez. Mairbek Taisumov was expected to face Nik Lentz at the event. However, Taisumov was removed from the fight on September 1 for alleged visa issues and replaced by promotional newcomer Michael McBride. On September 5, it was announced that the lightweight bout between Damir Hadžović and Yusuke Kasuya, slated to open the preliminary portion of the card, was postponed and will now take place at October's UFC Fight Night: Lamas vs. Penn after Hadžović experienced issues with his travel visa. Ray Borg was scheduled to face Ian McCall at the event. However, Borg pulled out of the fight on September 7 citing an illness. With no time to find a suitable replacement, McCall was removed from the card. Michael McBride missed weight, coming in at 158 lbs. As a result, he was fined 20% of his fight purse, which went to his opponent Nik Lentz. On the day of the event, C.B. Dollaway was forced out of his bout against Francimar Barroso due to an injury related to riding a faulty elevator. As a result, Barroso was also removed from the event. Results Fight card *Heavyweight bout: Stipe Miocic def. Alistair Overeem by KO (punches) *Heavyweight bout: Fabrico Werdum def. Travis Browne by Decision (unanimous) *Welterweight bout: Mickey Gall def. CM Punk by Submission (rear-naked choke) *Bantamweight bout: Jimmie Rivera def. Urijah Faber by Decision (unanimous) *Women's Strawweight bout: Jéssica Andrade def. Joanne Calderwood by Submission (guillotine choke) Preliminary Card (Fox Sports 1) *Women's Bantamweight bout: Bethe Correia def. Jessica Eye by Decision (split) *Middleweight bout: Brad Tavares def. Caio Magalhães by Decision (split) *Catchweight bout (158 Ibs): Nik Lentz def. Michael McBride by TKO (punches) *Lightweight bout: Drew Dober def. Jason Gonzalez by KO (punches) Preliminary Card (UFC Fight Pass) *Welterweight bout: Yancy Medeiros def. Sean Spencer by Submission (rear-naked choke) References Category:2016 in mixed martial arts Category:2016 in Ohio Category:Ultimate Fighting Championship events